| 1963 Kansas City Athletics |
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| 1963 Information | ||
| Owner(s) | Charles O. Finley | |
| General manager(s) | Pat Friday | |
| Manager(s) | Ed Lopat | |
| Local television | KCMO | |
| Local radio | KCMO (AM) (Monte Moore, George Bryson) |
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| Previous season Next season | ||
The 1963 Kansas City Athletics season was the ninth for the franchise in Kansas City and the 63rd overall. It involved the A's finishing 8th in the American League with a record of 73 wins and 89 losses, 31½ games behind the AL Champion New York Yankees.
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[edit] Regular season
- Owner Charlie Finley changed the team’s colors to Kelly green, Fort Knox Gold and Wedding Gown White, and replaced Connie Mack's elephant mascot with a Missouri mule — not just a cartoon logo, but a real mule, which he named after himself: "Charlie O, the Mule." In reading the Chicago Tribune, Charlie Finley read about the Missouri Mule, a mule which helped troops in World War I carry ammunition. Finley decided that a mule would become the club’s new mascot.[1]
- He also began phasing out the team name "Athletics" in favor of simply, "A's." In June 1963, Bill Bryson wrote of the uniforms,
Kelly green is the Athletics' accent color. It was more a nauseous green the players wore on their wholesome, clean-cut faces the first few times they had to appear in public looking like refugees from a softball league.[2]
- Owner Charlie Finley was upset about his stadium deal with Kansas City. He had visited Dallas, Texas and Oakland, California as prospective places for relocation.[3] Finley also talked to Atlanta Journal sportswriter Furman Bisher about relocating the A's to Atlanta. Later in the season, Finley made threats of moving the club to Louisville, Kentucky and renaming the franchise the Kentucky Colonels.[4] As a sign of protest, Finley relocated the A's offices from the stadium to the garage of team scout J Bowman.[5]
[edit] Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 104 | 57 | .646 | -- |
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 68 | .580 | 10.5 |
| Minnesota Twins | 91 | 70 | .565 | 13 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 86 | 76 | .531 | 18.5 |
| Cleveland Indians | 79 | 83 | .488 | 25.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 79 | 83 | .488 | 25.5 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 85 | .472 | 28 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 73 | 89 | .451 | 31.5 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 70 | 91 | .435 | 34 |
| Washington Senators | 56 | 106 | .346 | 48.5 |
[edit] Notable transactions
- May 25, 1963: Joe Azcue and Dick Howser were traded by the Athletics to the Cleveland Indians for Doc Edwards and $100,000.[6]
- May 26, 1963: Sammy Esposito was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.[7]
[edit] Roster
| 1963 Kansas City Athletics | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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[edit] Player stats
[edit] Batting
[edit] Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Doc Edwards | 71 | 240 | 60 | .250 | 6 | 35 |
[edit] Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Howser | 15 | 41 | 8 | .195 | 0 | 1 |
| Joe Azcue | 2 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
[edit] Pitching
[edit] Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moe Drabowsky | 26 | 174.1 | 7 | 13 | 3.05 | 109 |
[edit] Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Bowsfield | 41 | 111.1 | 5 | 7 | 4.45 | 67 |
| Norm Bass | 3 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | 11.74 | 4 |
[edit] Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Wyatt | 63 | 6 | 4 | 21 | 3.13 | 81 |
[edit] Awards and honors
- Norm Siebern, reserve[8]
[edit] Farm system
See also: Minor league baseball
[edit] References
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.88, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Bryson, Bill (1963-06). "Whose Hues? A's colored uniforms recall varied suits of the past". Baseball Digest. pp. 33, 34. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.70, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.71, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.72, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
- ^ Joe Azcue page at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Sammy Esposito page at Baseball-Reference
- ^ http://baseball-almanac.com/asgbox/yr1963as.shtml
[edit] External links
- 1963 Kansas City Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
- 1963 Kansas City Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
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